From Heavenly Harmony
Ancient Maranatha Music
by Ken Myers
In 1524, two influential Protestant hymnals were published in Germany. The first, edited by Luther and fellow Lutheran pastor Paul Speratus and published in Wittenberg, was a 12-page booklet with only eight hymns. The second larger and more influential volume, the Erfurt Enchiridion, contained 26 hymns, 18 of them by Luther. One of the most enduring of these, the Advent hymn "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland," evidences Luther's genius of reforming rather than disposing of the liturgical tradition of the Church. If you've sung "Savior of the Nations, Come" on one of the Sundays in Advent, you, too, have been a conveyance of a particular treasure within that inheritance, sharing an experience with St. Ambrose, medieval monks, Luther, J. S. Bach, and countless others.
The fourth-century bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose, may be best known to contemporary Western Christians as the man who baptized Augustine. Less well-known is his role in enriching the music of the Church. Ambrose recognized the power of hymnody to shape the hearts and minds of faithful believers, as well as to challenge theological errors (his nickname "Hammer of the Arians" was not for naught). He is credited with having promoted antiphonal chant within the liturgy, and a number of hymns are believed to have come from his hand. The best-known of these is "Veni, redemptor gentium," "Come, Redeemer of the nations." By the twelfth century, Ambrose's text was set to a chant melody, to which it was sung for centuries.
Luther's Hymn
Martin Luther loved chant. He had sung Gregorian chant since he was a schoolboy, and after he became a monk in 1505, he was, as Robin Leaver writes,
completely immersed in the daily pattern of worship of the monastic community, which involved extensive singing of Gregorian chant. He was now exposed to the full extent of the daily offices throughout the church year; he had to sing all the [eight] offices every day, with their specific antiphons, hymns, responsories, and so on, appropriate to the time and season, as well as singing through the whole of the Psalter every week. Similarly, after his ordination (1506–7) his experience of the chants of the Mass was intensified because now he had to sing the biblical lections and other parts of the liturgy assigned to the priest.
When Luther was translating the text of Ambrose's "Veni, redemptor gentium"into solid German poetry for congregational singing in his retuned liturgy, he couldn't help but think of the familiar plainchant melody to which he had sung the Latin text for years. So he "translated" the traditional tune as well, re-forming the single melodic line of the chant into a "hymn tune" or chorale melody that invited harmony. That chant haunts the Lutheran hymn, and is revived in every contemporary congregation as it sings "Savior of the Nations, Come."
Did I mention that Luther loved chant? In 1542, he edited a book of chant melodies with texts that differed from what had traditionally been sung. In the book's preface, he wrote:
We have collected the fine music and songs which under the papacy were used at vigils, masses for the dead, and burials. Some fine examples of these we have printed in this booklet and we, or whoever is more gifted than we, will select more of them in the future. The melodies and notes are precious. It would be a pity to let them perish. . . . But these are used to adorn all sorts of impure and idolatrous texts. Therefore, we have unclothed these idolatrous, lifeless, and foolish texts, and divested them of their beautiful music. We have put this music on the living and holy word of God in order to sing, praise, and honor it. We are concerned with changing the text, not the music.
When Luther did alter the music, as he did with "Veni, redemptor gentium," the result was a melody fertile with possibilities for musical development. His re-formed tune, "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland," was a favorite of J. S. Bach, as is evident from the movements of the three cantatas Bach wrote for liturgical use on the first Sunday of Advent.
Bach's Cantatas
Ken Myers is the host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal. Formerly an arts editor with National Public Radio, he also serves as music director at All Saints Anglican Church in Ivy, Virginia. He is a contributing editor for Touchstone.
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